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The Journey of Julius Kluijver and Hiry" describes an AI recruitment platform streamlining hiring processes
Julius Kluijver is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Having run multiple companies, one persistent bottleneck he encountered was hiring — the long hours spent filtering unqualified candidates or paying premium fees for recruiters. This inefficiency in the recruitment process led him to a realization: he wasn’t the only one facing these challenges. So, Julius set out to build a solution that would transform the way businesses approach hiring. This is the story of Hiry, an AI-powered platform reshaping the recruitment landscape.
Julius’s inspiration for Hiry came directly from the pain points he experienced firsthand.
"Hiring has always been a huge bottleneck. Either you waste hours sifting through unqualified candidates, or you overpay for a recruiter. There was no predictable way to scale without being held back by the people aspect," he explains.
Initially, Julius founded a traditional recruiting company, focused on competitive pricing, quality candidates, and guarantees. The company grew to a respectable size, but even then, he realized they weren’t accessible to everyone. This realization led him to build something more scalable and accessible— a software solution built around the expertise they had accumulated, designed with the direct input of their customers.
Hiry was born out of a desire to fix everything wrong with the recruitment process — simplifying the tediousness, avoiding overpaying for recruiters, and ensuring businesses only see qualified candidates. As Julius puts it, "We want to become the go-to recruitment company. When people think ‘hiring’, they should think ‘Hiry.’"
Hiry operates as a recruitment platform with AI at its core. The service pre-qualifies candidates and matches them with companies in need of their specific skill sets. "It’s like if Tinder only had highly vetted talent," Julius jokes, highlighting Hiry’s approach to simplifying and streamlining recruitment.
One key differentiator for Hiry is its use of AI verification and applicant matching, combined with integrated interview and invoicing features. By offering specialized talent that has been triple-vetted, Hiry ensures that every hire is the right fit for the company. Their pricing model is fair, and they target internet businesses with revenues ranging between six to eight figures annually.
What makes Hiry stand out from competitors like MarketerHire, Contra, or Upwork is the focus on super-specialized talent rather than casting a wide, generic net. "We ask our community questions, listen to their feedback, and iterate. It’s this level of engagement that drives our product forward," Julius says.
The gig economy is booming, and Julius sees Hiry perfectly positioned to capitalize on this trend. As companies increasingly switch from agencies to in-house hiring, Hiry steps in to make this process seamless. The team conducted extensive market research before launching, flying out to clients, spending time in their offices, and identifying bottlenecks firsthand. They then brought their findings to online communities like Reddit and Facebook to validate their assumptions, ensuring they were tackling real industry pain points.
Hiry operates in a market Julius estimates to be worth between $5-10 billion. Despite competition, Hiry stays ahead by focusing on specialized talent. As Julius explains, "We plan to stay ahead by offering super-specialized talent instead of a super broad, generic platform."
Hiry’s business model combines a subscription service for companies — offering unlimited access to hire talent — with a 5% fee on freelancers’ earnings. In addition, they offer a corporate plan that integrates their software with traditional recruiting services. This premium plan, priced 10 times higher than their standard offering, sustains the company’s overall operations.
While the company is still early in its journey, Julius has ambitious goals. "We want to hit $1M in annual recurring revenue (ARR)," he says. Growth is measured primarily through customer satisfaction, with profitability coming as a secondary focus. Hiry’s growth strategy moving forward includes founder-led marketing, remaining active on social media, and pulling back the curtain on the company’s operations to build trust with its audience.
Like any entrepreneur, Julius has faced his fair share of challenges. Balancing spending on marketing and product development has been a key issue, as has managing a remote team, which sometimes leads to miscommunication. Yet, he has always found creative ways to overcome these obstacles, often by thinking outside the box. One of the hardest lessons learned came from partnering with the wrong people early on. "I learned never to make decisions out of desperation but to always think ten steps ahead," he reflects.
Despite the difficulties, Julius finds immense reward in the process itself. "Going from an idea in my head to a tangible product is just super rewarding. I enjoy working on this every day, and if it disappeared tomorrow, I would have enjoyed the ride of a lifetime."
Hiry’s core team is made up of talented individuals: Parik, the CTO, who manages the product; Florian, who oversees talent management; and Matthew, the COO, responsible for operations. Together, they have built a laid-back, fun company culture that emphasizes passion, motivation, and personality. "If I wouldn’t enjoy sitting down with them and sharing a drink, I don’t hire them," Julius says about his hiring philosophy.
The company fosters innovation by encouraging everyone to contribute ideas, starting with the junior members. This approach ensures that all voices are heard before the CEO weighs in. "We use Bezos’ methods — first the ‘lowest’ people give their ideas, and the CEO goes last," Julius explains.
Looking ahead, Julius envisions Hiry becoming the go-to hiring company. "We want to build an AI tool that helps businesses figure out what a good hire looks like at their stage of growth," he says. As more companies transition to remote work and in-house hiring, Julius believes Hiry will play a crucial role in shaping the future of recruitment.
Hiry is also partnering with influencers like Davie Fogarty to bring their product to a wider audience. With these partnerships and product innovations, the company is set to make a lasting impact on the recruitment industry.
Running Hiry has changed Julius’s life in numerous ways. He has built countless new connections through customer research and increased his tolerance for stress. "I have failed so many times in my life, I lost it all — and more. Yet I have never seen giving up as an option," he says. Julius credits his resilience to his mother, who taught him the importance of giving without expecting anything in return.
Balancing personal life with the demands of running a startup has been a challenge, but Julius finds support from his family and friends, who understand the pressures he faces. "I try to see them as much as I can," he says.
Julius’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple yet profound: "Try to build. And fail. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity. If you have an idea, build it. Work your ass off on it. It might fail, but that experience cannot be bought. And if it succeeds, the sky’s the limit."
Hiry is on a mission to transform the recruitment industry with its AI-powered platform, offering specialized talent and a seamless hiring process. With Julius Kluijver at the helm, the company is poised for rapid growth and innovation, becoming the go-to name in hiring for businesses worldwide.
